The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is suing the Proud Boys over the destruction of a Black Lives Matter banner at a historically Black church in D.C.

The litigation, filed Monday in D.C. Superior Court in conjunction with the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, calls for accountability for the attacks on the historic Black church. They are asking for a jury trial and hope that the jury grants the church compensatory and punitive damages. Lawyers did not request a specific amount.

“The lawsuit seeks to hold accountable those responsible for acts of mob violence inside the nation’s capital targeting historically Black churches,” the committee wrote in a press release Monday, calling it a “coordinated and clear acts of trespass, theft, and destruction of property.”

The defendants include Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio, Proud Boys International LLC — a far-right group by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group — and several “John Does.”

Metropolitan AME was one of two historically Black churches downtown where Black Lives Matter banners were reportedly torn down and burned after a pro-Trump rally on Dec. 12. Last month, Tarrio claimed he was responsible for burning one of the banners, though he told DCist/WAMU at the time that he didn’t remember the name of the church. D.C. Police is investigating the incidents as potential hate crimes.

Kristen Clarke, executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said Black churches are vulnerable institutions that must be safeguarded and protected.

“The attack perpetrated against Metropolitan AME is one meant to intimidate and instill fear, especially in Black communities,” she said Monday during a press call.

She says the lawsuit seeks to send a message to others who may take similar actions during upcoming demonstrations on Wednesday and on Inauguration Day later this month.

“These attacks are the equivalent of modern-day cross burnings intended to stoke fear among Black people in D.C. and nationwide,” Clarke said. “We hope that there will be a federal investigation into this matter. But for now, we are standing up … to hold the Proud Boys accountable for their racist and despicable actions.”

Rev. William H. Lamar IV of the church said “white supremacists will not dictate the terms of our worship of theology or our strident commitment to the liberation of humankind from violence, from oppression and from exploitation.”

He encouraged D.C. residents to show support with Black Lives Matter signs and flags in their homes.

Tarrio did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and an email sent to a lawyer for the Proud Boys bounced back.

Asbury United Methodist Church, the other house of worship whose Black Lives Matter banner was destroyed on Dec. 12, had a second banner torn down over Christmas weekend, according to the Washington Post.

Asbury’s Rev. Ianther Mills wrote on Facebook that she asked MPD for increased police presence over the next few weeks, and for a police vehicle to be posted at the church on Wednesday and Inauguration Day.

District officials from the police department, Homeland Security and the mayor’s office are meeting with church leaders today to talk about plans for the upcoming demonstrations.